


No Turning Back || Hiatus

by spacejeep69



Series: Lords of The Realm [1]
Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, M/M, Multi, based on that Lords of The Realm video hammy did, get prepared to get smacked in the face with feels, i'm a sensitive boy, it isn't my first work but still please be nice, ooh boy it's hopefully a long one, this is also part of a series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-17 08:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10590696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacejeep69/pseuds/spacejeep69
Summary: [On hold due to poorly thought out plot and slight writer's block!!]A story about two royals, one knight and a pair of princes on a quest for success, a place in society and to solve a darker conspiracy.The royals lead their country to glory.The knight leads the princes to a better home.So how is it that nothing is going right?





	1. Prologue

_A young Prince by the name of Jimmy Whetzel stood in his room, watching as a redhead dusted some light make up on his face. "Aunt Mai?" He asked, blinking up at her as she smiled. "Yeah? What is it, sweetie?" Jimmy gulped, squeezing the fabric of his dress as he looked down. "Why did it have to be today, of all days?" Mai faltered, nearly dropping the brush she was holding. She set it down and rubbed one side of her face, a devastated expression forming._

_"Sweetie, it's been years, now." Jimmy shifted, looking to the left as he remembered. "Yeah, I know, but... Why? Didn't Uncle Austin know what day it was?" Mai stopped completely, biting her lip as tears formed in her eyes. "I'll be right back. You stay here, okay?" Jimmy nodded, and Mai swiftly left the room._

_Jimmy began to ponder the events of what had happened years prior. He was only fourteen at the time, so it had to be about five years by now. "Why?" He asked softly to himself, and to any one else willing to listen. He knew that he wasn't responsible for what had happened, but it had felt like it. He felt like if maybe he hadn't run away, maybe things would still be the same, but he knew he was lying. None of what happened had anything to do with him, and if it did, then he knew and wanted to believe nothing of it._

_"It wasn't a fun time, those years ago." Jimmy whirled around, facing a guilty looking Mai and both a sad Hana and Austin. "And I know none of us will probably ever get over it, but we at least need to try." Austin placed a hand on Jimmy's shoulder, squeezing gently. "You're going to be the King, Jimmy. Your people need you." Hana said with misty eyes, rapidly trying to blink them away. Jimmy's lip trembled and more tears sprung to his eyes, mind still on the tragedy that had happened._

_"Think about it, Jimmy. You can change the future of our kingdom. You can help our people get over what happened." Ian had stepped in the room, very visible grief on his face. "Now cheer up! It's supposed to be a happy time, goddammit!" Ian smirked, stepping out of the room._

_Mai stood once more, grabbing the powder brush. "Ian's right! We need to be happy! It's Jimmy's big day!" Mai grinned and began dusting Jimmy's face once more. Austin and Hana took the hint, giving Jimmy the proudest smiles they could muster and walking out of the room._

_Maybe one day, he'll get over it. But for today, he'll keep those memories fresh in his mind as he becomes the new King._


	2. Chapter 1 - Jeffrey

From the day he was born, Jeffrey Fabre had been raised to be the king of a new generation. He was the only son of the previous king and queen, everyone he'd ever met brought him up to be the hopes and dreams for the future of the kingdom. However, he was far from obedient in his parents' eyes. He was somewhat reckless, very clumsy and overtly kind to everyone he's ever met. He refused to treat his people like garbage, giving the poor money and other helpful things. His parents didn't approve of that behaviour. Of course, when he turned nineteen, eligible princesses from many different lands came to his castle to be chosen as queen. He didn't like them.

There was one exception, however. One that he didn't necessarily hate, but wasn't too fond of. A princess from the opposing kingdom by the name of Hana Mizuno.

He was leaning his head on his hand, elbow resting on the edge of a bar's counter as he gazed boredly at all the girls flittering about. There, sitting almost equally as bored as himself, sat a girl with medium length rose pink hair and cornflower blue eyes, wearing a black and gold dress. That was odd. Not many had pink hair. He'd only ever met one girl with pink hair, and that was a long time ago. He moved closer to her, wanting to engage in a conversation.

Before he could even get a word out of his mouth, another male was suddenly behind her, covering her eyes in an attempt to scare her. Something about the boy seemed familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it. "Austin, I know that's you. You can keep trying to scare me, but it's not going to work." The pink haired girl ripped Austin's hands from her eyes, whirling around to face him with a scowl. "Don't be so bitter, Hana! Besides, you might get to meet Jeff again while you're here!" Austin chirped happily, making Jeffrey snap his head towards the pair with more attention than the last three minutes. No one had called him Jeff in a really long time.

He blinked, and those cornflower blue eyes were on him, accompanied by basil green ones, both blinking with confusion. "Jeff...?" Austin's eyes widened, while Hana's took a moment to process the information. Jeffrey nodded once, before standing and speeding off, not wanting to face the two again. He remembers them from the past when they were just kids and not royalty. He kind of wanted that back, but he'd never admit it out loud. He honestly didn't want to deal with them.

He dashed into one of his castle's may rooms and walked over to the window, not even thinking properly as he opened it and jumped from it. He was only two stories up, so he would be fine. However, he didn't realize that someone would be there. He crashed into said person, landing on their back as he tried to scramble up as fast as he could. "I'm so sorry! I never meant to do that! I didn't think there would be anyone out here, or anyone I'd crush by jumping out of a window!" He immediately helped the person up, apologizing profusely as he bowed deeply. "Hey hey, now. Come on, stand up, there's no need for apologizing."

As Jeffrey looked up, he saw a kind face looking down at him. He was lanky, but most definitely shorter than Jeffrey. He couldn't have been a year or two younger. His hair swooped to the right side, looking scruffier than his. Jeffrey's was almost the exact opposite, hair swooping to the left and more tidy. The man had a clean shaven face not like his own, which was covered in stubble. The man blinked his stone blue eyes, his expression giving way to annoyance.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" The man scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. Jeffrey blinked and cleared his throat, looking down at his shoes before looking up one more. "Sorry. And also... Sorry for smashing into you." Jeff looked at his shoes again. "It's fine! I'm not hurt, and you don't seem to be either, so everything's all right!" The man sighed, before bursting into giggles, making Jeffrey flinch.

"Sorry!" The man said between giggles, covering his mouth with his hands. "It's just..." He paused for another giggle break, wheezing and tears leaking from his eyes. "You don't see that everyday, you know? The Prince of Acerbitudo leaping out of a window like his pants are on fire!" His laughter grew louder, face redder as more wheezing and more tears escaped him. Jeffrey thought about it for a moment before snickering as well.

"So, why did you jump from a two story window on the night that you're supposed to meet your 'special one'?" The man asked after both he and Jeffrey had finally stopped their laughter, flexing two fingers from each hand to form quotation marks when he said the phrase 'special one'. Jeffrey shrugged, looking impassively on as he eyed some girls walking out of the castle. "They don't seem... Sincere enough, I suppose." The man beside him nodded. "So where are you from, anyway?" Jeffrey looked at the man, watching his stony eyes look up at the night sky. "I'm actually from Tergeminus. I came because I figured, 'Why the hell not?' and so here I am. My name's Ian, by the way. Ian MacLeod." Jeffrey watched Ian avert his gaze from the moon, looking over to where a dance was happening in the courtyard.

"Jeffrey Fabre, Prince of Acerbitudo. Nice to meet you, Ian MacLeod." Jeffrey held his hand out for a shake, which Ian obliged to. "So, Jeffrey Fabre, what are you planning to do for the rest of this fine evening?" Ian asked politely, a small smile tugging on his lips.

"Well, I was planning on just going to my room. I was trying to escape a bad situation, but-" Ian held a hand up to silence the Prince, eyes shut and eyebrows furrowing. "No. You're not going to sleep. The night is young, sweet Prince. We're doing something reckless whether you want to or not." Ian's expression turned into a smirk, silently daring Jeffrey to object. Jeff held his hands up in surrender, a smile of his own crossing his face.

"So what will we be doing?" Jeffrey's eyes glinted with excitement, all boredom from before gone. Ian hummed quietly, looking out at the fields near the castle stables. "Let's go for a ride." Jeffrey held his hand out to Ian, letting the older man drag him away to the stables.

When the two arrived at the stables, a few whinnies were heard from some of the horses. Jeff walked up to a grey one with black and white speckles along its thighs and shoulders. It had a black mane, tail and nose. The creature snorted as Jeffrey patted its neck. Ian watched with interest, his smile only growing wider. "What's his name?" Jeffrey was slightly startled for a moment, forgetting that Ian was there in the first place. "Josephine, but I call her Wubby." Ian gave him a quizzical look, but the question went unanswered.

Jeffrey lead the horse out of the stable, motioning for Ian to get on. Ian hesitantly sat up on the horse, grabbing the reigns so he wouldn't fall. Jeffrey snickered as he got up behind Ian. "Don't worry, Sir MacLeod. She's friendly, if that's what you're worried about." He grabbed the reigns from Ian's hands. Ian merely scoffed, clearly not wanting to admit that it's exactly what he was worried about.

"To adventure!" Jeffrey cried, digging his heels into Josephine's sides. The horse bucked and began running, making Ian squeal and grip tightly onto her glossy mane. Jeffrey burst out laughing, flicking the reigns up and down.

The castle grounds were quite large. Inside of them, they held both a thriving city and a beautiful garden, complete with a large lake in the southeast exit of the grounds. And it's exactly where they were heading, completely unintentionally. The horse kept going, clearly not caring about the lake in front of her. Jeffrey yanked on the reigns, making the horse screech in protest and try to stop itself.

Ian was smashed against the neck of the horse, the wind getting knocked out of his lungs. Jeffrey gently shook his shoulder, blinking excessively in confusion as he watched Ian wheeze and stare blankly at the sky. "Am I dead?" Ian lived his head lightly, giving Jeffrey an afraid look. Jeffrey just shook his head, rolling his eyes and giggling. He jumped off of Josephine, holding his hand out to Ian. Said man took Jeffrey's hand, letting himself slip off of the horse.

"Why did she take us here?" Jeffrey asked, watching as the horse trotted up to the edge of the bank and bent her head down, lapping at the water. "Well, there's my answer, I suppose." Jeffrey shrugged. Something light softly landed on his back, which made him swerve his head over to the lake where a loud splash was.

At Jeffrey's feet were a pair of trousers, and more garments were lying on the ground leading up to the edge of the lake. Ian was swimming in it, waving Jeffrey in with a smirk. Jeffrey's jaw dropped, his cheeks flushing crimson as he realized that Ian was skinny dipping in his lake. "Come on, Jeffrey! The water's pretty nice!" His eyes were ripped from the shirt on the floor, wondering if he should go in. He sighed deeply, rushing to remove his own garments as he jumped into the lake.

Ian was waist deep in the water, grinning as he dove under. Jeffrey looked around for a moment, curious to where the other had gone when something grabbed his legs and pulled him under. Jeffrey yelped as he was dragged under, gagging and squeezing his eyes shut as liquid invaded his mouth, nose and eyes. He quickly resurfaced, coughing and hacking as he glared as a hysterically laughing Ian.

"Oh my god, you are just too precious, Prince Fabre." Ian stopped laughing and sat up on a large rock, slouching over and leaning his head on his hand. "Yeah yeah, say what you will, but just know that if I died, you'd be thrown in jail without a second thought." Jeffrey scowled as he crossed his arms. Ian reached over and pinched his cheek, snickering. "I wouldn't allow it to happen to you, sweet Prince."

"Let's just go before we die from the cold." Jeffrey shivered lightly, making Ian chuckle. "Live a little, why don't you? You need some lighthearted destruction in your life." Jeffrey's eyes widened, eyebrows furrowing as he processed what Ian was saying. "No! Destruction hurts people!" Ian rolled his eyes as he glanced over to Josephine. "Destruction is needed to make peace. Also, I think that a goat is eating our clothes."

"What?!" Jeffrey clambered out of the lake, staring wide eyed at a small goat munching on his shirt. "Dammit, Tiny! You're killing me! You're really killing me!"

 

* * *

 

  
Jeffrey never expected to hear from Ian ever again, as no one was allowed to stay in the castles besides the eligible princesses wanting to wed him. So, clearly it came as a shock to see Ian three nights later.

A steady tap kept hitting his window, too precise to be rain, but too slow to be a person. Jeffrey, both unable to sleep and annoyed by the sound, slammed his window open just in time for a rock hitting him right between the eyes. "Ow! What the heck?!" He glared out of his window to see a slyly grinning Ian, tossing a rock up and down in his hand. "Ian? What are you doing here? And at this time of night?!" Ian snickered as Jeffrey desperately tried to contain his voice.

"Come down here and I'll tell you!" Jeffrey's eyes widened at the demand. "I can't! There's guards outside of my room!" Ian rolled his eyes, holding his arms out. Jeffrey gave him a skeptical and offended expression, because there was no way in hell that he was jumping that far down. "Just jump, you big baby!" Jeffrey scowled before taking the leap.

He soared through the air for a moment, and time seemed to slow down. He could see everything beyond the castle, from the forests to some of the villages themselves. They glowed with warm yellow lights, both close and far away from the castle. Of course, after that, he was sinking. The lights and the trees stopped being visible, and he made the terrible mistake of looking down. He shrieked for a split second, quickly clapping his hands over his mouth as he descended farther. Ian finally seemed aware of how far up Jeffrey was, as his stone blue eyes widened with fear.

Jeffrey finally came crashing down onto Ian, landing tailbone first into Ian's chest. Ian's wide eyes rolled into the back of his head, crumbling to the floor with the force Jeffrey brought. Ian immediately began wheezing on the ground, gasping violently for breath as he clung to the long grass beneath him. "That was your fault, you idiot!" Jeff laughed through adrenaline, hugging himself tightly as he grasped the situation.

"I'll give you that." Ian's wheezes turned into short coughs and panting breath as he nodded at Jeffrey. After a few minutes of the two calming down, Ian cleared his throat. "I'm here because... I guess I just really wanted to see you again. I mean, you're... Pretty cool." Ian's cheeks grew pink as he looked away, not trusting himself with looking Jeffrey in the eyes. "You're pretty cool too, Ian!" Jeffrey grinned happily, patting Ian's shoulder in a friendly way.

"We should go somewhere." Jeffrey suddenly blurted, looking over to where the gardens resided. "The gardens at night, huh? You sure there's no ghosts there?" Ian smiled at his own joke, but Jeffrey didn't seem to understand. "Well, in our kingdom, there's a rumor that going to gardens after midnight usually attracts spirits, especially those who have unfinished business." Jeffrey looked even more confused. "Because they were said to be murdered... In gardens..." Jeffrey's expression turned to concern and the mood turned uncomfortable. "It's just a story that elders tell to children to keep them out of gardens at night. Nothing more than that." Ian shifted uncomfortably, neither of the two wanting to bring it up anymore.

God, why do the Terge have such weird customs? Who even tells children scary stories so they'll avoid a certain place like the plague? That just seemed wrong.

The pair eventually made it to the gardens, Jeffrey looking peacefully at the flowers. "I take it you like flowers?" Ian's voice jolted him out of his otherwise nostalgic stupor. "No, there's just a special flower that blooms at night that I haven't seen in years." It was Ian's turn to look confused as Jeffrey smiled and took his hand, leading him to the center of the garden maze.

In the center was a glowing sangria colored flower, combined with two female looking statues alongside it. "What... Is that?" Ian reached out to touch it, but Jeffrey quickly reached his arm out, shaking his head as if to stop him. Ian retracted his hand and admired its beauty from afar. "It's called Kuroyuri. It's supposed to bring love and curses to anyone who touches it. My great grandfather was gifted it from a friend of his, from a kingdom across the ocean. He planted it here, in the middle of his garden so that no one could find it. In fact, I think I'm the only one who knows about it. See those statues right there? They were made to represent what the flower's meant to do. The one on the left is love, and the one on the right is curse."

Ian studied the statues carefully, noticing that both had similar expressions. One was patterned with a heart just under her collarbone. The other held a tear under her collarbone, but the tear was carved inwards a bit in the middle, making it look like an upside down heart. "Interesting." Neither said anything more as they both admired the beauty of the flower.

"You know, I was kind of lying." Jeffrey turned to face Ian. "When I told you about that story... I was lying. My mother used to tell it to me all the time, warning me not to go in the gardens because there was a black shadow wanting to kill me hiding among the leaves, wielding an axe and crying hysterically about his lost love..." Jeffrey felt uncomfortable again. "It may be silly, but because of that story, I never went in a garden. At all. But now that I have, I've discovered that they're pretty nice." Ian smiled at the flower while Jeffrey still looked incredibly concerned.

Shaking away his concerns, Jeffrey looked to the flower again. "Do you have anything special like this in Tergeminus?" Ian shrugged passively, looking over the green maze walls. "If they did, I wouldn't know. I've never been to the royal gardens. Even if I had, I wouldn't have been able to know. I'm not exactly royalty, you know." Jeffrey took note of the slightly bitter undertone Ian gave, looking back to Ian once more. "Really? I'd assumed that you were a prince or something." Jeffrey was surprised by this twist. Ian shook his head, his lips becoming a thin line.

"I hope you know that your status doesn't change anything." Ian blinked, shock seeping into his expression. "You're still my friend, prince or not." Ian's jaw slowly opened, eyes wide with shock as he saw the determined look on Jeffrey's face. "Thank you." Ian felt arms wrap around him, and he pat Jeffrey's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Acerbitudo = Hidden Block  
> Tergeminus = Normal Boots
> 
> I hope I did these nerds justice while writing them. Look forward to more soon, because I'm definitely having a blast with it! (Brownie points if you catch all the references in this chapter!)
> 
> (yes, jeff is referred to as jeffrey until ian starts calling him jeff)


	3. Chapter 2 - Ian

The next meeting of the pair was instigated by Jeffrey, which made Ian pleased and appreciated. Ian was talking to a nice girl with red hair and fern green eyes, listening as she talked about the boy she had the hots for. Ian was pretty invested in the conversation, not even noticing when Jeffrey creeped up behind him. "So, one day Jared calls out to me and tells me that I need to stay out of his way. I've never felt closer to him than ever before! That means that I can stay beside him, right?" Ian nodded enthusiastically, watching the boy she was talking about from the corner of his eye.

The boy she admired was quite handsome, he had to admit. Wavy brown locks parted perfectly down the center, stunning sapphire eyes that looked like chandeliers, and smooth, pale skin that shimmered. (Why on earth was he sparkling? How was that happening? These questions would probably never be answered, but Ian would like to know the answers to them.) He seemed to have a sophisticated air about him, as if he were the high Prince and all these brides to be were for him. "I think you should go for it. I'm sure you could tame that proud stallion one day!"

The girl swooned beside him, her face flushing pink before turning back to him. "Thanks for your help. I don't think I caught your name?" Ian's eyes widened at the statement, chuckling awkwardly for a moment before sticking his hand out to her. "I'm Ian. It was nice meeting you-!" Both parties gasped in shock as Ian was grabbed by his waist and lifted off the ground by something... Someone.

"Hello, Ian!" Jeffrey chirped, his smile brightening the room. Ian's cheeks flushed the same pink color as the girl's, trying to free himself from Jeffrey's grasp. The girl let out a teasing giggle, eyes becoming half kidded as she smirked at Ian. "It was nice meeting you, too, Ian. I'm Mai Sasaki, but I'll leave you two kids alone for now." She wiggled her eyebrows up and down in Ian's direction, her grin only growing as Ian's cheeks became darker.

Jeffrey chuckled and set Ian down as the redhead flitted her fingers at the pair before marching away. "Hello, Jeffrey." The Prince grinned while bowing, grabbing Ian's hand and kissing his knuckles. Ian shook his hand out of Jeffrey's grasp and lightly smacked him, giving him a disapproving look as he stood straight. Jeffrey giggled at Ian's look, glancing at the redhead girl as she talked to the boy she was blabbering to Ian about.

"Do you really think that she has a chance with with him? He's already planning a way to run away." As Ian looked over, he saw that Jared's eyes were shifting from left to right as he nodded mindlessly at Mai. Her expression turned from awestruck to crushed in a split second as she realized that Jared wasn't listening to her. Ian watched as Mai's shoulders sagged and she ran away without another word. Ian almost immediately began marching over to Jared, if Jeffrey hadn't grabbed his wrist and shook his head.

The pair watched sadly as Mai bumped into a pink haired girl, the both of them falling over, Mai on her arm and the other girl on her tailbone. "Hana!" Austin called from behind Ian and Jeffrey, making the two jump and whirl around. Austin mindlessly shoved the pair apart, making Jeffrey lose his grip on Ian's wrist and his balance.

Ian watched as Jeffrey fell, only shock written on his face as he toppled over. Ian moved as fast as he could, catching Jeffrey and looking him in his eyes. He could feel Jeffrey's breath on his lips, the tips of their noses a millimeter apart. The way Jeffrey's liquor colored hazel eyes watched him made Ian nearly drop him. His eyes were completely focused on Ian, and vice versa. It took a moment for Ian to realize where he was and just how close was actually was to the prince. His cheeks flushed, eyes widening as he lifted Jeffrey to his feet.

People had crowded both he and Jeffrey along with Prince Austin and Princess Hana. "Just kiss already!" Shouted someone from the crowd. Ian was sure that it was Mai. Both of the boys blushed, but no one said anything.

"Jeff?" It was quiet for all of thirty seconds before the Prince and Princess of Tergeminus shoved their way to where Ian and Jeffrey were. Jeffrey made a noise that sounded like a gasp and an exhale. Jeffrey bit his lip as he turned to face the pair. "Hi..."

No one moved, and Jeffrey looked at the floor. "Can we take this outside? Everyone's kind of staring..." Hana wearily averted her gaze from all the faces looking at the four. Jeffrey merely nodded, beginning to walk outside to one of the dances being held outside. After some quick thinking, Jeffrey ran back and grabbed Ian's wrist once more, carefully slipping his hand into the younger man's. Ian blushed as Jeffrey led him outside.

* * *

 

"So, Jeff, how's life been?" Austin asked while slow dancing with him. Ian was slow dancing with Hana, both of them laughing as they went everywhere the floor had room to offer. Jeffrey sighed, his head resting on Austin's chest. "Stressful, I suppose. My kingdom expects me to succeed." Austin laughed, gently squeezing Jeff's left hand. "I know that feeling. It's how mine expects me and Hana to be." Jeffrey took note of the slightly worried tone in his voice. "You never explained how your kingdom's ruling system works to me." Austin tensed for a brief moment, sighing as his shoulders drooped.

"It's simple. There's a King, a Queen and their general. We're basically all born into our roles. They switch around sometimes. For example, my dad is the general for his generation. My mom is still the Queen as usual, but my dad's closest friend and ally is the King. I am going to be the King, Hana is going to be my Queen, and one of my good friends, Jared is going to be the general." Jeffrey tensed at the intense amount of information being thrown his way. He tried to sort it all out in his brain.

"So when you and Hana have a kid, how will you know which role it will be?" Austin completely froze, tensing up as he looked down at Jeff. "Dude. No." Jeffrey pouted for a moment, looking away from Austin. "It's a legitimate question, though." Austin squinted at Jeff, dropping Jeff's hand. "That's the thing, too..." Jeffrey watched as Austin looked towards the moon. "Even if I wanted to have a kid with Hana, it's against the rules and customs of my kingdom." Jeffrey almost instantly regretted bringing this topic up. He could tell that Austin really liked Hana. "Hana has to find her own-"

"We're back from dancing. That was fun, Hana. We should do it again sometime!" Ian was smiling at Hana, watching as her eyes lit up with gratitude and excitement. "Definitely! I'll look forward to it!" Hana grinned as she moved to stand near Austin, grabbing onto his arm almost instinctively. "Hey, Hana." The pair spoke softly, both smiling softly as they whispered to each other. "Hi, Ian." Jeffrey wore a big grin, genuinely glad to see Ian again. "Hello, Jeff."

Jeffrey's grin vanished instantly, eyes widening and cheeks growing redder by the second. Had Ian really just called him 'Jeff'? That was something only people very close to him called him. Not even his annoying younger cousins called him that. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of Ian calling him Jeff. He'd like Ian to get close with him-

"Jeff! Are you okay? Your cheeks are the color of tomatoes!" Ian's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, making him blink and look to Ian's face. "Yes! Yes, I'm fine. Just wondering when you started calling me Jeff." Ian awkwardly giggled in response, scratching the back of his head as he stared at Jeffrey- no, Jeff's shoes. "I guess it was when I realized that it was a special name to you." Jeff stepped closer, nodding as he listened to Ian's stuttering ramble.

"Can I have this dance?" Jeff noticed the hesitancy in Ian's voice, and he giggled. Ian's expression became disappointed for a few seconds before Jeff grabbed Ian's and and led him to the center of the dance floor instead of the sidelines. A gentle song was playing in the background, and Ian led the dance. The pair dreamily stared into each other's eyes, stone meeting liquor in a warm embrace. Jeff's hand clasped into Ian's had fit almost perfectly, and the hand on his hip was welcome as they swayed gently to the beat.

They twirled around the floor, neither caring when the song ended and a new one began, or when they heard the snickers of two certain people, accompanied by a guest redhead that bumped into someone earlier. They didn't even notice or realize that their faces grew closer and closer together with each passing minute. It was around the time that a third song began playing when their noses touched once more. They both shyly looked away, suddenly aware of how close they'd become. Ian gave Jeff's hand a gentle squeeze, and Jeff looked back to Ian. On Ian's face was a gentle, encouraging smile. It was as if he was asking for a kiss. Jeff, his cheeks growing as red as possible, took a deep breath and went for it.

Their lips brushed against one another, and Ian could feel his insides melting. Jeff's lips were dry and thin, but he loved it. The world around him was dark as he closed his eyes, but he swore he saw all the colors of the universe. His stomach did flip flops and his heart dropped in a delightful way. With Jeff, he felt more at peace than he ever had before. Without thinking, he stopped the dance and cupped Jeff's cheeks in his hands. Jeff's hands found their way around his waist, resting on his sides.

Jeff hesitantly broke the kiss, eyelids fluttering and cheeks completely red. He released Ian from his hold, arms hanging limply at his sides Ian released Jeff's face, relaxing his arms and grabbing Jeff's hands subconsciously.

"About time!" Hana smirked at the pair, nudging an eye rolling Austin. Mai snickered in her sultry way, her fern green eyes glinting with indecency. Ian buried his face into Jeff's shoulder, biting his lip to suppress the joyful grin on his face. Jeff squeezed his hand gently. "So, lover boys, when's the wedding?" Ian jolted off of Jeff, eyes wide as he looked at Hana. The pink haired girl giggled, and Austin suppressed some snickers of his own. "That's it! I can't believe you guys! We're going back into the castle!" Jeff pouted as he dragged Ian along, Jeff marching in faux anger while Ian buried his face in one hand.

"Bet you fifty coins that they're gonna bang." Hana gasped at the statement, while Austin burst into laughter, doubling over and wheezing in hysteria. "Mai! ... You're on..." Mai let out a short bark of laughter, her face turning deadly serious after as she held out her hand. Hana rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Even if it did happen, I want proof."

The next morning, Mai got paid handsomely. How the three of them got their proof, the world may never know.

* * *

 

Within a few days, the festival was over, and Jeff still wasn't courting anyone (to his parents' knowledge). "Jeffrey, what are we to do with you? You still haven't found yourself and eligible young lady! Do we have to make decisions for you?!" To that, he rolled his eyes and told them of someone he'd met during said festival. His parents excitedly began to ask for details, hope gleaming in their eyes. "I'm not sure that you'd like him..." His parents faltered for a moment, but said nothing as they allowed him to continue.

"He's just... So... Amazing! It feels like whenever I'm around him, I'm allowed to be myself, not just some prince of a neighboring kingdom!" His parents shared a glance with one another, both seeming to share the same opinion. "What's his name?" He looked at his mother, noting the suspicious expression she held. "Ian MacLeod." He sighed dreamily at the mere thought of Ian. His father looked surprised, before a warm grin spread on his face. "Let's bring him over, then! Hold a feast! Call the family, get them together and tell them that a wedding will be taking place!" Jeff looked over to his parents, curious as to why they were so ready for this.

 

"I just don't understand why you can't like some other guy. Don't you know how great the responsibility of being king is?" Ian squinted suspiciously at Austin's friend, Jared, wondering why he was being told all of this. "I'm just saying, dude. Look at Austin and Hana. They've been raised to be king and queen from the start, and they're constantly under stress! I just feel like maybe being king just isn't good for you."

Ian looked at Jared like he was the stupidest person on the planet. "What even makes you think that I'm gonna marry him?" Jared placed his hands up in front of him in a surrendering gesture. "I'm just saying." Ian rubbed his temples and sighed, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes closed. "Okay. Fine. Say I do marry Jeffrey. What would that even entail to you? You'll be busy ruling over here!"

Jared shrugged, a smile flashing on his face for a moment. "Just because we're allies with Acerbitudo doesn't mean that we're always going to be friendly with one another." Ian scoffed, crossing his arms tightly so as not to smack Jared. "Are you threatening Acerbitudo?" Jared's sapphire eyes gleamed with malicious intent for a moment. "I never said anything of the sort. I'm just saying that friendships end. The Ceries are no exception, no matter where the ruler is originally from." Ian watched with a bitter scowl as Jared left, digging his nails into the fabric of his shirt.

The next day, he was summoned to Acerbitudo castle, being led there by a fancy carriage sent by the Ceries themselves. The note he was given didn't provide too much explanation on what was happening, but his parents had shipped him off with them after discussing the situation with the driver. He honestly didn't care why he was going just as long as he saw Jeff again.

He arrived at the castle with no problems, and was immediately tackled into a hug by Jeff. "Ian! I missed you so much!" Jeff laced their fingers together as he pressed a gentle kiss onto Ian's cheek. "I missed you too, Jeff." Ian pressed their foreheads together, smiling.

Jeff pulled away from Ian, looking deeply into his stone blue eyes. He stood up and offered a hand to Ian, pulling him up. Jeff kept a hold of Ian's hand and led him to the field near the lake, stopping them in the middle of it. "Ian, I need to ask you a very important question, and I'm sorry for how soon this is." Ian gave Jeff a confused look, but wasn't given the opportunity to ask.

"Ian, will you marry me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger shenanigans ensue!
> 
> I also forgot to mention that in this universe, PBG's name is Austin. I would have stuck with his original Asagao name of PeanutButterGamer, but calling a character Peanut for however-long-this-story-is-going-to-be didn't seem like a good idea, so Austin it is.
> 
> More terminology just in case you wanted to know:  
> Ceries = resident or group of people from Acerbitudo  
> Terge = resident or group of people from Tergeminus
> 
> So sorry if the last two segments seemed rushed! I didn't really know how else to write them.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates for this are on Mondays and Fridays every 2 weeks


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